The ninth planet has long been a suspected object in the outer regions of the Solar System, but now they have found proof of its existence – or so claims a group of astronomers.
Some astronomers have suspected for many years that the best explanation for the unusual phenomena at the edge of our solar system may be another, as yet undiscovered, planet.
Constantine Bogytin astronomer who helped popularize the theory, revealed in a new statement that he and his team have once again found evidence to suggest that this planet actually exists. Their latest work is the strongest statistical evidence to date that the ninth planet really exists, reports the Independent.
You may also be interested in: There are at least 300 million potentially habitable planets in the Milky Way
In the new work, scientists looked at a series of trans-Neptunian objects, or TNOs, which is the technical term for objects that lie beyond Neptune at the edge of the Solar System.
The research looked at objects whose motion becomes unstable because they interact with Neptune’s orbit. This instability means they are more difficult to understand, so astronomers investigating a possible ninth planet have generally ignored it in their analysis.
Instead, the researchers looked at the objects and tried to understand their movements. And – claimed Dr. Bogytin – the best explanation is that they come from another, as yet undiscovered planet.
The research team performed a series of simulations to understand how the objects’ orbits are affected by various things, including the giant planets around them such as Neptune, galactic tides from the Milky Way and passing stars.
And the team still claims that the ninth planet theory is the best explanation for all of this.
Read this too! What happens on Mercury? The planet began to shrink
According to the report of the research team, further investigations will be made possible by the future launch of the Vera C Rubin Observatory. The facility is currently under construction in Chile, and once launched, will tirelessly scan the sky to understand how these very distant objects behave.
A paper describing the work, Generation of Low-Inclination, Neptune-Crossing TNOs by Planet Nine, was published on arXiv.
Tags: Scientists claim evidence existence ninth planet solar system
